The search for British billionaire Mike Lynch and his daughter has entered a crucial stage after the businessman’s yacht sank following a tornado off the coast of the Sicilian capital Palermo.
The 50-metre luxury boat, named Bayesian, had 22 people on board when it sank in the early hours of Monday, with four Britons among the six missing, according to local media.
The yacht sank as a fierce storm battered the area overnight, and was flying a British flag, according to ship-tracking site Marine Traffic.
Salvo Cocina of Sicily’s civil protection agency said: “They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
Divers have now successfully managed to smash through a glass window and enter the hull of the vessel, but have yet to reach the cabins. Nick Sloane, an engineer who worked on Costa Concordia salvage operation in 2012, told Sky News that the coming hours will be “critical”.
He added: “They’ve got a very small window of time to try to find people stuck inside with hopefully an air pocket, and they could be rescued. You’ve got a maximum of two to three days to try to get someone out.”
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What do we know about the missing people on the yacht?
Mike Lynch is among six tourists missing. The British technology tycoon founded software giant Autonomy in 1996 and was made an OBE for services to enterprise in 2006. In June, he was cleared of conducting a massive fraud relating to a $11 billion (£8.64bn) sale to US company Hewlett Packard.
One man, believed to be the boat’s chef Ricardo Thomas, has been confirmed dead. Four of the missing passengers are British and two are American, reports Italian newspaper La Repubblica.
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Mr Lynch had planned the superyacht cruise as a celebration with family, employees and lawyers who supported him during the decade-long trial.
Morgan Stanley International Bank chairman Jonathan Bloomer and Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo are among those missing.
Divers are still searching for the remaining six passengers unaccounted for: Mr Lynch and his 18-year-old daughter, Morgan Stanley International non-executive chairman Jonathan Bloomer, Clifford Chance lawyer Chris Morvillo, and their two wives Judy and Neda.
Among the 15 survivors rescued from a lifeboat was Mr Lynch’s wife Angela Bacares. Another survivor, Charlotte Golunski, 35, told Italian journalists how she saved her one-year-old daughter Sofia from drowning.
She told La Repubblica she lost Sofia for “two seconds”, adding: “I held her afloat with all my strength, my arms stretched upwards to keep her from drowning. It was all dark. In the water I couldn’t keep my eyes open. I screamed for help but all I could hear around me was the screams of others.”
According to her LinkedIn profile, Ms Golunski is a partner at Mr Lynch’s firm, called Invoke Capital.
Charlotte, Sofia and Charlotte’s husband, James have now been discharged from hospital.
Ayla Reynold, a Kiwi working at Clifford Chance, also survived the horror with her partner. Her father Lin Ronald confirmed to The Telegraph she had been invited aboard as thanks for assistance in Mr Lynch’s recent court case. He said that his daughter had not given many details about what happened, but said: “There are deaths and she and her partner are alive.”
Two more survivors have also been named as Leah Randall and Katja Chicken. They are both reportedly South African and worked as crew members on the Bayesian.
Where did the yacht sink?
The luxury yacht sunk off the coast of Palermo in Sicily.
The 56-metre-long sailboat sank with 22 people on board shortly before sunrise, the Italian coast guard said in a statement.
“The wind was very strong. Bad weather was expected, but not of this magnitude,” a coast guard official in Palermo told Reuters.
Storms and heavy rainfall have swept down Italy in recent days – with floods and landslides causing major damage in the north of the country – after weeks of scorching heat.
The boat left the Sicilian port of Milazzo on 14 August and was last tracked east of Palermo on Sunday evening, with a navigation status of “at anchor”, according to vessel tracking app Vesselfinder.
The Bayesian superyacht
The Bayesian superyacht is 56 metres long, according to VesselFinder.
The superyacht can accommodate up to 12 guests in six suites and is listed for rent for up to 195,000 euros (£166,000) a week. Her registered owner is listed as Revtom Ltd, which is based on the Isle of Man.
Bayesian completed several sailings in recent days, calling at various ports in Sicily.
Formerly known as Salute, or health in Italian, its 75-metre mast is the tallest aluminium mast in the world, Italian shipbuilder Perini said on its website.
Perini constructed the boat in 2008 and it was last refitted in 2020 and was managed by yachting company Camper & Nicholsons.
Camper and Nicholsons International, confirmed to The Independent that the Bayesian sailing yacht “encountered severe weather and subsequently sank”.
A statement continued: “There were a total of 12 guests and 10 crew onboard. The Italian Coast Guard is leading search and rescue operations, and has safely recovered 15 individuals. Efforts to locate the seven missing persons continue. Our priority is assisting with the ongoing search and providing all necessary support to the rescued passengers and crew. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”